Myanmar powers up

The government heavily subsidises electricity prices, providing power to consumers at around 3 US cents a megawatt, compared with 16 cents in Cambodia. This is much less than the cost of production, which is around 8 or 9 cents. It costs the government around $350 million a year to subsidise the national grid.

The government seems to have deferred any move to raise electricity prices for fear of sparking protests and unrest, say some industry analysts. This has also raised fears that the government will continue to drag its feet on approving generation projects, as new plants would swell the subsidy bill further, increasing the budget deficit and straining public finances